Kendrick Lamar albums ranked in order of greatness as he headlines Super Bowl 2025

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly newsletter Now Hear This for the inside track on all things music Get our Now Hear This email for free Get our Now Hear This email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. / Because we born in the Eighties / That ADHD crazy,” Lamar raps on standout track “A.D.H.D”, one of several songs – including “Ronald Reagan Era” – which he uses to paint a picture of the impact President Reagan’s policy of allowing crack cocaine to flood into Los Angeles’ Compton neighbourhood had on the children, like Lamar, who were growing up there. By this point in his career, Lamar could confidently say he was the greatest rapper alive, a fact he alludes to on the outstanding autobiographical closing track “Duckworth”: “It was always me versus the world / Until I found it’s me versus me.” The album produced his single biggest hit, the enormous “Humble”, as well as making history by winning the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 4 month free trial Sign up Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music Sign up now for a 4 month free trial Sign up Following the success of “Not Like Us”, his chart-topping diss track aimed at Drake, GNX captured Lamar in feisty form as he took aim at all comers over a sound indebted to classic West Coast rap. Billed as a “Short film by Kendrick Lamar” on the album cover, the deeply autobiographical record told the tale of Lamar’s teenage years on the gang-controlled streets of Compton with profound clarity.